The steely competitor she is, losing mostly isn’t fun for Iga Swiatek. Most players will tell you the same thing. 

In an interesting nugget gleaned from her briefing with reporters on Saturday in Tennis Paradise, the Pole recounted only two times when she didn’t win a match but still did enjoy it. 

The first one came before Swiatek was a Grand Slam winner, beaten by Naomi Osaka in the third round in 2019 in Toronto when the latter was ranked No. 2. 

“It was just amazing for me to be out there,” said Swiatek. 

The second occasion was in the 2022 final in Ostrava, Czechia, close to the Polish border, when Swiatek fell in three sets and three hours to Barbora Krejcikova. 

“It was such an amazing atmosphere,” said Swiatek. “I literally, after the match, wanted to cry with gratitude, because the audience was so amazing. Half of the stadium was Polish, half of the stadium was Czech. 

“These were two matches throughout the last five years, so it doesn't happen often, but we are athletes. We always want to win.” 

Tears have come lately, too — though it has nothing to do with tennis. 

A music lover — of Taylor Swift but also some heavy metal — avid reader, lego builder and 'Friends' aficionado, Swiatek is now getting into movies. 

More specifically, hits from a few decades ago. 

“I'm watching actually the classics from '90s. It's super nice,”said Swiatek. “‘Legends of the Fall’ and ‘English Patient.’ Intense movies, but I love them.

“I always needed to get more movie knowledge in my life, because I know a lot about books, TV shows. But movies, not really. I'm still learning.

“I’m crying on every” movie.

On the tennis court Saturday, her 6-0, 7-6 (2) win against Kayla Day in the second round might be described as a thriller, at least in the second set. Swiatek overturned a 5-1 deficit against the qualifier from California. 

She next tangles with the player she has beaten in both of her Indian Wells finals, Maria Sakkari. 

Swiatek had topped Sakkari four straight times before the resurgent Greek rallied from a set down to win last month in Doha. 

Swiatek subsequently pulled out of Dubai, opting for a mini training block in Warsaw. 

“In Doha it was for me quite obvious why I lost, and immediately when I went off the court, I knew what to improve,” said Swiatek. “Like technical-wise, I didn't really prepare for some of the shots as I should. When we got back home, I really practiced hard.

“Also, I played many longer rallies to not lose patience in the middle of it and really be able to grind, because against Maria, you need to be ready for a physical match.

“I want to really use these practices for the match and change that and be better at that, so we'll see how it's going to go.”